News, notes and reader questions about the San Francisco 49ers

June 13, 2013

Yes, free-agent acquisition Craig Dahl notified the 49ers coaches that the Rams defense was picking up on cues that told them whether the 49ers were planning to run or pass the ball. But Jim Harbaugh said Dahl, a safety who spent the previous four seasons in St. Louis, merely was confirming what the 49ers already knew.

He said the 49ers were tipping off the Rams in the teams' first meeting Nov. 11 but that the issue had been corrected by the rematch on Dec. 2. Both games went to overtime; the first ended in a tie, the other a Rams win. "Yeah, after the first game we played the Rams we saw that we were doing that," Harbaugh said.

Dahl's former teammates were not happy with his revelation with cornerback Cortland Finnegan on Wednesday taking to Twitter to call Dahl "lame and weak." Harbaugh, however, said it was natural for coaches to ask Dahl about any possible giveaways. "Yeah, of course we asked him," Harbaugh said.

MATTHEW BARROWS

Matt was born in Blacksburg, Va., and attended the University of Virginia. He graduated in 1995, went to Northwestern for a journalism degree a year later, and got his first job at a South Carolina daily in 1997. He joined The Bee as a Metro reporter in 1999 and started covering the 49ers in 2003. His favorite player of all time is Darrell Green.